Frommer v. City of Richmond

• Decision Date: 20 March 1879
• Citation: 72 Va. 646
• Parties: FROMMER v. CITY OF RICHMOND.
• Court: Virginia Supreme Court

72 Va. 646

FROMMER v. CITY OF RICHMOND.

Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia.

March 20, 1879

F, who lives outside of the city limits, rents a stall in the market-house of the city of Richmond, where he carries on his business as a butcher. He prepares his meat for market at his house, and owns two carts and horses, which he uses to bring his meats from his house to his stall, and take out such of it as is not sold; and he pays a tax on these carts and horses as property in the county--HELD: Under the charter of the city, the city council may require F to take out a license for so using his carts and horses, and to pay a tax on said license.

This was an appeal from the judgment of the hustings court of the city of Richmond, affirming a judgment of the police justice imposing a fine of ten dollars upon F. Frommer for his failure to take out a license upon a wagon used by him in the city. The case is fully stated by Judge Christian in his opinion.

Young, for the appellant.

Keiley, for the appellee.

OPINION

CHRISTIAN J.

The court is of opinion that there is no error in the judgment of the hustings court affirming the judgment of the police justice.

A fine was imposed on the plaintiff in error by the police justice of the city of Richmond for a violation of one of the city ordinances. On appeal to the hustings court that judgment imposing a fine was affirmed, and from this judgment of the hustings court the plaintiff in error applied to one of the judges of this court for a writ of error and supersedeas; which was accordingly awarded.

The bill of exceptions taken to this judgment of the hustings court sets out the following facts:

That the appellant, F. Frommer, is a butcher in the Second or New market of this city, and is duly licensed as such by the council thereof, and occupies a stall therein, for which he pays the rent to the city, according to the ordinances on the subject; that said F. Frommer resides in the county of Henrico, about half a mile outside of the corporate limits of this city, and that his slaughter-pens and slaughter-houses are at the place of his residence, and that he slaughters there all cattle, sheep, & c., the meat of which is offered by him for sale at his said stall at said market that he is the owner of two wagons, running on eliptic springs, which is kept by him at his said residence in the county, and one or the other of which is used by him daily in transporting his slaughtered meat from said slaughter-house every day to the said Second market-house in said city, where the same is to be sold, and in carrying back such of said meat as may not be sold, after the market hours are over; and that he also carries and delivers, during and after market hours, to the houses of such of his customers residing in said city as may desire the same to be done, any meat so purchased by any of them from him, but that this is done without reward or hire. It further appeared that said wagons are given in by said F. Frommer in his list to the commissioner of the revenue for said county for taxation, according to law, as a part of his personal property in said county; that said F. Frommer also sells and delivers as aforesaid cured meats chiefly, but not exclusively, of his own curing--he occasionally buying from commission merchants in said city such cured meats as he may need for his customers over and above what he cures himself, which meats are sent to him by the said commission merchants. His meats, which are cured by himself, are slaughtered and cured at his said...